Bleeding Darkness

Chapman’s relentless fifth book (following Shallow End) featuring Kingston, Ont., police officer Kala Stonechild and Sgt. Jacques Rouleau takes the reader on a rollicking roller-coaster ride. A family gathers as patriarch David McKenna is near death in hospital, but this is a family with far more than the usual share of dysfunction. Time with the McKennas is especially difficult for David’s daughter, Lauren, who has never recovered from the murder of her best friend, Zoe, 14 years earlier, for which her brother, Tristan—Zoe’s boyfriend—was suspected by never charged. The scene gets even darker when Tristan’s pregnant wife, Vivian, is murdered. Kala and Rouleau have their work cut out to unravel the secrets of these murders. Aside from Tristan, suspects abound among the family members and neighbors, and their efforts are not helped by the antics of Ofc. Zack Woodhouse, a cop jealous of Kala’s position in the force. Woven throughout are developments in Kala’s relationship with her young teen foster niece, Dawn, whom Kala has cared for since her mother was incarcerated. The ongoing story lines in Kala and Rouleau’s personal and work lives add depth and strength to this book and the series as a whole. Readers will enjoy riding shotgun with them through every twist and turn of this intriguing case. (June)